Earth-boring mechanism



Oct. 5 1926.

. 4 'S he ets-Sheet 1 Filed May 2. 1925- L. E. GIBSON EARTH BORING MECHANISM Oct. 5 1926.

Filed May 2. 1925 4 SheetswSheet g Get. 5 1926.

| E. GIBSON EARTH BORING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 2, 1925 Oct 5 1926.

' L. E. GIBSON EARTH BORING MECHANISM Filed May 2. 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 lab 0.

Patented Oct.

LEO E. (mason, or DETROIT, mrcmean.

EARTH-BORING MECHANISM.

Application filed May 2, 1925. Serial No. 27.448.

This invention relates to an improved apparatus for digging post holes, and has for its object an improved organization of parts by which a hole of the desired diameter,

for

the reception of a telegraph or a power wire pole may be dug in clay,

sand, or in fact any soil not positively rocky in the degree pf its hardness,

making the hole as diameter than that really reception of .the pole,

without the necessity of dug of much larger necessaryfor the case where hand tools alone are employed and which results,

even when the surplus earth is packed around the inserted pole, in leaving a relatively soft pole-surrounding formation just where as much firmness as possible is really desirable to-keep the pole from tilting under .itsweight or due to wind pressure.

In the construction herein disclosed, it has been my aim to provide a construction which,

makes possible the ele itself of any as both a propelling medium, and to as regards its power plant,

association with the vehiwell-known type of tractor, and a power-supplying avoid such structural and operative difliculties as experience with the attempts of others along this line has shown to be inherent in their mechanisms, including both undue b ging members carried by the vehicle, and failure to provide for removal of the earth as loosened from the operative inding strains upon the digvieinity of the digging blade.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevational view of my improved device. Figure 2 1s an from the right hand or end elevational view taken forward end of the device as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a plan v1ew.

Figure 4 is a largescale elevational view of that portion of my operative connections to device comprising the the spiral digging blades and the earth brush and their connected and actuated parts.

Figure 5 is blade-cleaning the shaft of the Figure 6 is a sectional the operative connections power plant to digging blades,

similar. view blade.

elevational view of leading from the the actuating shaft for the taken along the line 6-6 digging of Figure 3, and looking in the direction of the arrows there shown.

Figure 7 is a taken along the cross-sectional detail view line 7-7 of Figure 6, de-

which is often the application. The

showing the brush, fully connected with signed to bring out the squared connection of the shaft at that oint, and of its corresponding telescopic ousing, by means of which rotational actuation may be imparte' through a variety of operative lengths of the shaft.

Figure 8 is a view lengthwise of the vehicle, taken along the line 8-8 of Figure 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows there shown, showing in somewhat exam gerated or spaced degree the several operative parts carrie power-transmitting shafts.

12 represents a vehicle frame or chassis mounted on Wheels 13, with which there is embodied or built in, operative purposes any I tractor, as 14, which ma if desired, be operatively connected, as\ y means of the shaft 15, with the differential mechanism 16 on two of the desired osition of the for bothtraction and form of will be made to function either-as a motion-.

imparting medium for the vehicle as a whole, or as a power plant, for the mechanism which forms the subject matter of this drivers or operators seat,

which for the sake of simplicity is not shown, may be located above the rear or traction wheels, in convenient position for the operator to manipulate the steering wheel 17, or to operate shifting levers appurtenant to the tractor as installed. I have made no attempt to illustrate these latter, since for the purposes of this application it seems only necessary to refer to the shaft end 18, which pro ects from one side of the tractor and carries the gear wh'eel'19, over which passes the sprocket chai'n or endless belt 20, from which the necessary actuation for the parts with which this application is particularly concerned is derived in the manner hereinafter described. Above that portionof the vehicle frame inclined pieces 36 and 37, the.

the several control and ing mechanism and to the height-regulating mechanism for the digging or boring blade. At one end of the vehicleframe, preferably the forward end, is located a frame 23, which, if the hole is to be dug perpendicularly, that is, with the vehicle resting on level ground, should ,be positioned accordingly, but which is pivoted at its lower end 24 to the vehicle frame, so that in case a hole is to be dug in ground whose surface is not truly horizontal, the consequent obl1que positioning of the vehicle chassis which mlght otherwise influence the true perpendicularity of the hole to be dug may be compensated for; or for convenience and clearance of the spiral digging blade when the vehicle is in motion, the frame 23 may be swung to ,angular position over the vehicle as a whole, and if desired, so far back that it may rest upon the brace piece 21, which is supported from the top end of the frame piece 36.

This possibility is indicated by the dotted,

line23 in Figure 1, the set screws 82 being first loosened to permit the telescoping of the shaft 79 further into the hollow shaft or sleeve 81. With its upper end pivotally attached as at 25 to the upper end of the frame 23, the strut or brace 26 extends angularly rearward, its lower end having secured toit a pair of plates 27, which slidably engage on either side of the fixed bracepiece 28, which extends lengthwise of the vehicle frame, and

' part of whose edge is provided with, serrastated, are actuable tions 29, with which the teeth of the gear wheel 30, which is rotatably carried from the plates 27, may engage, so that as the crank 31 is rotated, the plates 27 are moved in the direction desired along the'strut 28, thus effecting, through the brace 26, the desired angular positioning of the frame piece 23. When this position has been attained, the. further rotation of the gear wheel 30 may be lockingly prevented in any desired manner, as b means of a dog 32.

The actuation o the digging part proper, whose details will be dealt with in a later paragraph, as well as the means for the suitable raising and lowering thereof, are allmechanically controllable from one or the other of the shafts 34 and 70,which, as heretofore from the endless sprocket chain 20; the shaft 38 is preferablydriven not directly therefrom, but through the medium Q of its operative connection with the shaft larger diametered 34, which receives its rotative actuation from the chain 20 through the medium of' its clutch-controlled sprocket wheel 35. Spacedly positioned on the .shaft 34 there-from is a considerably smaller pinion or sprocket wheel 33, whose teeth mesh with those of the gear wheel 39,'keyed to the shaft38. The shaft 34 may be thrown into or out of operative connection with the gear wheel 35 through the medium of the clutch 22, actuatable through the hand lever .tible by means of 22. This shaft, as brought out to; a somewhat exaggerated degree in Figure 8, also carries keyed to it a drum 34, over whlch passes a friction band 34", whose tension 41, which extends obliquely upward lengthwise of the vehicle frame and passes over the pulley'42, at the very top of the frame piece 23.

for the pendent support of the driving head 45, by means of which the spiral digging blade 47 is actuated in "a way still to be described.

The shaft 7 0 already mentioned similarly derives its rotative actuation through the medium of the gear wheel 71, over which the sprocket wheel 20 also passes. Positioned loosely, that is non-rotatably, about the shaft 70 is a sling or frame 73 which extends somewhat forwardly from the shaft 7 0 as regards the vehicle as a whole, and also positioned betweenthe arms or branches of this frame, fixedly on the shaft 70 as regards its rotatability, is a bevel limitedly movable lengthwise of the shaft 70 by means of the clutch 75, which is actuatable through the medium of the link 76 from the conveniently positioned operating handle 77. i

The frame 73 rotatably supports the housing or 'bearing78, through which the shaft 79 passes. On that end of the shaft 79 adjacent the shaft 70 is keyed a bevel gear 80, whose teeth mesh with those of the bevel gear wheel 74 on the shaft 70, so that ac cording to the clutch-influenced position of the gear wheel 74 relatively .thereto, the shaft 79 may derive its rotative actuation from the tractor through the medium of the chain 20, in the same manner as the shaft 34 already described. That part of the shaft 79 which extends beyond the housing 78 projects into the adjacent end ofthe hollow shaft or sleeve 81, with which it is connec brought out particularly in Figure 7, that part of the forward or outer end of the sleeve 81 toward the forward or boring member end of the vehicle is of squared cross-sectional contour, for the slidable or telescopic engagement therein of the correspondingly squared end of the shaft 85, which at its outer end is connected, through the medium of the universal joint 86, with the rearwardly projecting end of the shaft 87, which is rotatably housed in the bearing '88, which projects rearwardly from the housing or driving head shell 45, positioned gear wheel. 74, which is the set screws 82. As

in movable relation to the upright or frame piece 23. As already brought out, the cable 41 passing over the pulley 42 at the top of the frame 23 supports, through the swivel 5 connection 44, the top of the shaft 46 of the digging blade, which rotatablyextends through the housing 45, and has keyed to it the spider of the bevel gear 90, whose teeth mesh with those of the bevel gear 89 carried on the shaft 88 just described. I

Since, relatively to the fixed power-dis-- tributing center represented by the shaft 70, the linear distance of the housing 45 'at various positions in its path of possible travel lengthwise of the frame 23 varies, because it cannot depart from truly vertical movement, it would appear that the operative connections between the shaft 70 and the housing 45' would bind except in the extreme high position thereof shown in full lines in Figure 1 or in the extreme thereof indicated in dotted lines; The continued and unimpaired operability of the parts is, however, insured through the slidable or telescopic engagement through the shaft parts 81 and 85 already described combined with the action of the universal joint 86. In any intermediate position lengthwise of the frame piece 23 where the linear 'distance from the shaft 70 to the point of operative connection of the bevelled gears 89 and 90 is less, the rotative actuation imparted from the shaft 7 may thus continue without interruption or impairment. The function of the cable-actuating mechanism already described being to raise'the blade-supporting shaft 46 to its, highest point, that is, where blade 47 will clear the round, as for move- 40 ment of the apparatus from one place to another, it is obvious that when the selected position for the boring of a post hole 'has been reached, the lifting pullupon the cable 41 may be terminated and the tip of'the boringblade allowed to rest upon the surface of the ground, and as long as the clutch 22 is kept from operative position upon its connected parts, the shaft 46 and its connected operative parts may descend relatively "to the frame 23 as vrapidly and as far as the digging of the hole has progressed. The operative rotation of the shaft 46 being effected through the medium of the parts already described as connecting the shaft 7 O and the housing 45, the latter gradually falls lengthwise of the frame 23, according to the depth of the hole that is being dug, through theirotation of the cutter blade 47, and consequently maintaining its relative ositionto the shaft 46, that, is with the evel gears 89 and 90 constantly in engagement. j As brought out particularly in Figures 2, 4, and 5, the lower. end of the shaft 46 carr1es keyed to it, as by the pin 48, the sleeve the shaft 46 is thus low position the tip of the boring 47 constituting the upper end of the cutting blade 47. The upper end of this sleeve is formed with clutch fingers 49, which, when the shaft is in lowered ordigging position, relatively to the vehicle and to its bearings 50, are without function. When, however,

sufficient earth has been bored loose to clog the otherwise efficient operation of the digging blade, the clutch 22 may be brought into operation to pull upon the cable 41 to effect the raising of the shaft to a point where the fingers 49 come into operative engagement with the depending fingers 51 of the sleeve 52, through which the shaft 46 ordinarily and otherwise rotatablypasses without operative effect. When these finger members 49 and 51 have thus'become interlocked, the continued rotative movement of transmitted to the web 53 of the gear wheel 54, which is supported in horizontally rotativeposition in the'end of the vehicle frame. The teeth of this gear wheel 54 mesh with those of the gear wheel 55,whose supporting shaft 56 is rotatably journaled in the bracket 57, and which carries on its lower end the brush 58, which, being thus caused to rotate, sweeps the curved blade 47 clear of the loosened earth, throwing it sufliciently far to one side of the hole that is being excavated so as not to interfere with the further operability of the digging blade. -The clutch 22 then being released, the pull of the cable 41 upon the shaft46 is terminated and the latter is permitted .to drop to the bottom of the hole that has thus far been excavated, for the further and deeper digging thereof." As soon as this takes place, the operative engagement of the fingers 49 and 51 ceases, and rotative movement is no longer imparted to the brush 58 in the manner described, until further raising of the shaft 46, after the quantity of loosened earth has again attained a clogging.

degree, causes arepetition of the 'pro- 1-0 and ceeding.

There is thus provided a flexible adaptable yet reliably correlated organization of parts, by means of the post holes may be rapidly and efficiently accomplished without danger of the operative parts becoming jammed or clogged. And furthermore the pivotal adjustability of the frame 23 relatively to the plane of. the vehicle chassis as a whole, extreme degree, for travel purposes' only, at 23 in Figure 1, makes it possible to dig a truly vertical hole upon ground whose surface slope is such that the plane of the vehicle chassis as a whole, necessarily at all times parallel to that of the surface upon which itrests, will not improperly influence the truly vertical positioning of the frame 23 relatively to the horizon. In wheels at the forward end of the vehicle rest upon a surface lower indicated to an casethe,

than that upon which of which the digging a power those at the rear end of the vehicle rest, the tilting of the frame 23 would be in the direction, though not necessarily to the extent, indicated by the dotted lines 23 in Figure 1; whereas if the forward traction wheels of the vehicle. rested upon .ground somewhat higher than that upon which the rear traction wheels rested, the angular inclination of the frame 23 would be outward instead of inward, that is to the right of the position shown in Figure 1. And the fact that the relation of the digging blade and its shaft to its supporting frame and to the frame of the vehicle as a whole is a pendent one, makes the boring progress of the blade into the earth non-communicable thereto as regards any upward lift upon the vehicle as a wh'o'le,so that an entire absence of angular strains thereon and of binding strains upon the actuative and operating parts characterize the device.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a vehicle frame, mechanism appurtenant thereto, means for selectively delivering actuation therefrom for either traction or power purposes to members carried by said vehicle frame, a frame pivotally connected at its lower end with one end of the vehicle, a rotatable boring shaft pendently supported by said frame, means for varying the angular position of said frame and its supported shaft relatively to the vehicle frame, means regulatable from a point adjacent the actuation control elements whereby the shaft may be; raised or lowered, and means operatively connected with one of said actuative means and with the upper end of said boring shaft whereby rotative movement may be imparted thereto at any level relatively to its supporting frame and to the vehicle attained by it during its period of operation.

2. In combination with a vehicle chassis provided with traction wheels and with a power plant, a frame pivotally connected with one end thereof in potentially vertical position, 'a rotatable boring shaft pendently supported at itsupper end bysaid frame, means regulatable from a point adjacent said power-plant whereby said shaft may be raised and lowered with respect to its sup-v porting frame and to said vehicle chassis, and means operatively connected with the top of said rotatable boring shaft whereby rotative movement may be communicated to it from said power plant at any level at- 'regulating the angular position ,of said frame with respect to the vehicle chassis, a rotatable boring shaft pendently supported by said frame, means for regulating from 3.

point adjacent the power plant the lengthwise movement of said rotatable boring shaft relatively toits frame, a rotatable telescoping shaft operatively connected with the power plant and capable of variations in its angular relation to said vehicle chassis while operating, and "means connecting the outer end of said shaft and the top of the rotatable boring shaft whereby rotative actuation may becommunicated to the latter at any operative position attained by it.

4. In combination witha vehicle chassis, an angularly adjustable frame member carried on one end thereof, a. rotatable boring shaft pendently supported thereby, means for raising and lowering said shaft lengthwise of its supporting frame, means operapossible movement relatively to its sup porting frame, a power plant operatively connectible with the vehicles traction wheels, means for selectively connecting I said power plant with the raising and lowering means for said boring member and with its rotational connections, whereby they may be caused to act in desired sequence, arotatable brush member supported by said vehicle frame adjacent the operative level of the lower end of said boring shaft, and means whereby it may be rotatively actuated by the rotative movement of said boring shaft, to effect the clearance from the blade thereof of the earth displaced by it.

5. The combination, with a vehicle chassis, of a frame member pivotally connected at its lower end with one end thereof, means for regulating the angular position thereof relatively to the vehicle chassis, a. boring shaft rotatably supported at its upper end from the corresponding portion of said frame member, means for raismg and lowering said shaft lengthwise of its supporting frame, means operatively connected with the top of said boring shaft whereby a con- I tinuous rotative movement may be imparted thereto throughout its path 'of possible travelrelatively to its supporting frame, a

power plant carried by said vehicle chassis,

and means for operatively connecting the same either with the traction elements of the vehicle or with said means for rotatively actuating said boring shaft.

6. In combination with a vehicle chassis, a power unit operatively connectible with the traction elements thereof, an angularly adjustable frame member connected'at its lower end with one end of the vehicle chassis, a rotatable boring shaft pendently supported from one end of said frame member, means for regulating the elevation of said boring shaft relatively to its frame member, and means operatively connected with said power unit and with the upper end of said shaft whereby rotative actuation may be communicated to the latter irrespective of its raised or lowered position in its supporting frame. I

7. In combination with a vehicle chassis,- a power plant carried thereby and operative-- 1y connectible with the traction elements thereof, a frame member pivotally connected at its lower end to one end of said ,yehicle chassis, a rotatable boring shaft pendently supported from the upper end of said frame member, means operatively connected with its upper end for transmitting rotativeactuation thereto from said power plant other- 15 wise than through its medium of support from said frame member, means operable from apoint adjacent said power plant whereby said boringshaft may be raised and lowered lengthwise of its supporting frame, a brush member rotatably supported by said vehicle chassis adjacent the level of operative activity of the lower end of said 'boring shaft, and means operatively connectible with said boring shaft whereby its rotative movement may be communicated to said brush to efiect the clearance by it from the blade of the boring member of the earth particles loosened by it.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification.

'LEVOE. GiBsoN. 

